1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for accessing network resources via the Internet or another wide area network. In particular, the present invention relates to systems and methods for selecting one or more points of presence for use by a client system to access the Internet or another wide area network, wherein the points of presence are selected based on cost or reliability considerations.
2. The Prior State of the Art
As the use of the Internet has increased over recent years, the number and availability of Internet service providers has likewise increased. Internet service providers operate points of presence (POPs), which include modem pools permitting users to access the Internet. In a typical arrangement by which home or business users gain access to the Internet, the users enter into a contractual agreement with an Internet service provider, whereby the user is allowed to access the Internet by means of a POP operated by the Internet service provider. Users typically prefer POPs that can be accessed by a local telephone call in order to minimize telephone expenses associated with dialing in to the POPs.
There are currently two primary billing arrangements used by Internet service providers to serve individual or business users. First, some Internet service providers allow access to POPs on an hourly basis. Second, other Internet service providers permit users to access POPs at a flat periodic rate, such as a flat monthly rate. In the first arrangement, users pay only for the time that they use, and therefore have the incentive to limit access time. Under the second arrangement, users have unlimited access and have little incentive to limit access time. Traditionally, heavy Internet users have favored flat fee POPs, while relatively light users have preferred hourly rate POPs.
While the forgoing model has been used by many Internet service providers and individual users, it has exhibited several problems in practice. For example, individual users who contract with one Internet service provider may have access to only one POP. If the assigned POP experiences heavy loads during, for example, peak hours of use, some users are likely to experience busy signals and are unable to access the Internet. If the user desires to ensure access to the Internet at all times, the user often must choose a more expensive alternative. For instance, users can choose the costly alternatives of subscribing to multiple Internet service providers or paying a premium to have access to multiple POPs or to a POP that is reliably available at all times. In addition, Internet users find it inconvenient to switch service providers for several reasons. For example, switching Internet service providers often requires significant time and effort, and can require the user to obtain a new e-mail address, which can cause disruption of normal receipt of e-mail.
In response to the unreliable access that has been frequently experienced by Internet users, there are now some organizations that act as brokers between Internet service providers and subscribers. In return for an hourly or a flat monthly charge, such brokers assume the responsibility of providing subscribers with reliable Internet access, which may require providing access to POPs operated by different Internet service providers. For example, an Internet access broker might enter into a contractual agreement with more than one Internet service provider in a particular geographic area, each of which operates one or more POPs. Subscribers of the Internet access broker can then access the Internet using any available POP as instructed by the Internet access broker. From the standpoint of the subscriber, using an Internet access broker is desirable because reliability can be greatly improved.
Internet access brokers typically deal with Internet service providers that offer access to POPs on hourly rates or flat fees. In addition, some Internet service providers charge Internet access brokers for POP access according to a third model, in which the access costs are proportional to the maximum number of ports at the POP that are simultaneously used by subscribers during any period of the billing cycle. To illustrate, if ten ports are simultaneously used by subscribers of a particular Internet access broker at a peak time during a month, the Internet access broker is charged a rate based on ten ports.
Internet access brokers may have hundreds or more subscribers in a given geographical area, who are served by a large number of POPs. The success of an Internet access broker can depend on the ability to effectively instruct subscribers to access POPs that provide reliable service and are also cost effective. However, it has proved to be difficult to manage the Internet access of many subscribers so that Internet service is delivered reliably and efficiently.
In view of the foregoing, it would be an advancement in the art to provide systems and methods for permitting Internet access brokers to instruct subscribers to access POPs in a manner that results in reliable service to the subscribers and cost-effective load distribution for the brokers. It would be particularly useful for such techniques to be compatible with the various billing arrangements employed by Internet service providers and flexible enough to adapt to billing arrangements that may be used in the future.
The present invention relates to systems and methods for distributing network traffic among multiple POPs in a cost-effective and efficient manner. According to the invention, an intermediary, such as an Internet access broker, that contracts with multiple Internet service providers can distribute loads among different POPs in order to improve access reliability compared to conventional systems. Moreover, the intermediary can reduce overall Internet access costs by matching subscribers"" usage patterns with the billing practices of the Internet service providers.
According to the invention, an intermediary offers Internet access to subscribers via multiple POPs in the geographic area of the subscribers. Internet service providers operating the POPs may charge the intermediary for subscribers"" access using any conventional billing practice. For example, different POPs may be available on a fixed monthly fee, an hourly rate, or a per-port rate based on the maximum number of ports simultaneously used by subscribers at any one time during the billing cycle. Moreover, the invention can be practiced with other billing arrangements.
Each subscriber receives a preliminary script for execution on a client system, thereby enabling the client system to access the Internet via one or more POPs. As the client system accesses the Internet using the POPs included in the preliminary script, an access monitoring system associated with the intermediary compiles a usage profile for each client system. The usage profile characterizes the use of the client system to access the Internet by recording, for example, the POPs that the client system accesses, the time of day and the day of the week of access, the total number of hours of access, etc.
After a selected period of time, the intermediary evaluates the user profiles for the client systems to determine whether alternative POPs would be more cost effective for particular client systems. For instance, the access monitoring system evaluates the usage profile of a selected client system to determine whether a lower access cost could have been obtained if the client system had instead accessed the Internet via different POPs. In evaluating the usage pattern, the access monitoring system forecasts the client system""s total connection time and connection time during hours of peak Internet load during the upcoming billing cycle. The evaluation conducted by the access monitoring system further involves identifying the set of available POPs for each client system, including a determination of the billing methods and connection costs for each POP. The access monitoring system also determines which POPs are local for the client system. Based on these considerations, the access monitoring system identifies one or more POPs to be used by the client system for establishing access to the Internet.
In one example, a subscriber whose usage profile indicates heavy Internet usage can be assigned a POP that charges at a flat monthly fee as opposed to an hourly rate. In contrast, subscribers having a usage profile indicating relatively light Internet usage may be assigned an hourly rate POP. The access monitoring system then generates a script to be executed at the client system to instruct the client system to use the cost effective POPs. The script is transmitted to the client system, where it is executed the next time the client system is used to access the Internet.
The scripts can have any desired level of detail in order to appropriately select cost-effective POPs for particular client systems and to efficiently distribute Internet load among different POPs. Accordingly, the access monitoring system can reduce the access failure rate of client systems compared to conventional approaches by comparing the usage profiles of multiple client systems with the available POPs in a given geographic area. For instance, based on the usage profiles, the systems of the invention can predict that certain users are likely to access the Internet at certain hours, such as peak or non-peak hours. In response, the subscribers can be assigned POPs that are likely to be available during those hours.
Each client system can be assigned more than one script, with instructions to use particular scripts under specified conditions. For instance, a client system can be instructed to use a first script during traditionally peak hours of Internet traffic and to use a second script during other hours. Alternatively, a client system can be instructed to use a first script until the cumulative number of hours of Internet access during the billing cycle reaches a selected number, at which point the client system is instructed to use a second script. Scripts typically include a primary POP and any number of alternative POPs to be used if the primary POP is unavailable.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.